Amsterdam, the home town of Professor Abraham van Helsing, is not often suggested as a destination for Dracula fans, since none of the novel’s action takes place there. Still, the city is worth some background research, as Stoker insists that the Van Helsing character is based on a real person:
"Readers of Dracula will remember that the most famous character in
it is Dr. Van Helsing, the Dutch physician, who, by extraordinary skill,
self-devotion, and labour, finally outwits and destroys the vampire.
Mr. Stoker told me that van Helsing is founded on a real character."
During the year 2012, Hans found some very promising clues suggesting that Prof. van Helsing was based on an internationally known Amsterdam psychiatrist/hypnotist after all.
Having lived in the city most of his life, Hans was admitted to the Amsterdam City Archives to conduct further research on this subject, together with the Dutch author Frans Gilson.